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Observed scores of latent traits are derived from true scores and measurement error (Spearman, 1904). When Spearman penned his immutable theory, the mantra of modern psychometrics was born, challenging researchers to continually strive to reduce measurement error. To this end, a variety of methods have been employed, including standardised administration and rigorous statistical evaluation of measures. Others have taken the opposite approach, pausing to consider what meaning may lie within the error itself. One such area of interest to psychometricians is acquiescence response bias, and the current study considers acquiescence and considers what role education may play in this source of measurement 'error'.
Acquiescence is the tendency of an individual to consistently agree to questionnaire items, irrespective of item directionality (Jackson & Messick, 1965; Javeline, 1999). Acquiescence's less agreeable cousin (termed counter-acquiescence) creates the opposite pattern of response, with a tendency towards disagreement regardless of item directionality. Acquiescence is problematic for both researchers and clinicians, introducing a source of error into the measurement of the construct of interest that varies within individuals (Rammstedt & Farmer, 2013). A pattern of responses that leads an individual to be biased towards the upper or lower end of a measurement scale challenges the validity of the measure. For clinicians, an inaccurate measure may negatively affect client outcomes, while researchers may draw inaccurate conclusions from research using measures confounded by acquiescence.
There are two conflicting positions in regard to acquiescence. The traditional position holds that acquiescence is an artefact of little interest, confounding the measured constructs with error that is best removed or controlled for (Nunnally, 1978). Other researchers consider acquiescence to be a trait worthy of further investigation within the context of individual differences -- a trait that maintains a certain degree of stability, consistency, and generalisability across settings (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1963; Morf & Jackson, 1972).
As a trait, acquiescence is both temporally stable (Billiet & Davidov, 2008) and able to significantly alter the covariance of item pairs, irrespective of item content (Bentler, Jackson, & Messick, 1971; McCrae, Herbst, & Costa, 2001). The confounding effect of acquiescence on both predictor and outcome variables can lead to inflated predictive validity (Rammstedt & Farmer, 2013). To a...